Its history is marked by comings and goings. Even before it became legislation, Law 9394/96 went through several discussions and changes until its final text was approved.
At first, it appeared to override Law 5692/71 . During the drafting of the 1988 Federal Constitution, a group of educators suggested several changes with the aim of improving the old Law.
From there, through congresses and forums, the LDB was built in a democratic way. However, its text, until approval, remained under discussion for about 8 years.
Many considered its writing extensive and with a high level of detail, which would prevent it from being fully complied with. It was then that Senator Darcy Ribeiro proposed a leaner version of the Law and it was finally passed.
During more than 20 years of LDB, its text has been updated, sometimes, to meet the new demands of society that arose. In general, the Law was responsible for expanding access to education for all Brazilians, giving greater autonomy to public networks and guiding, in an organized manner, the work of educational institutions.
Below, we will talk about the main changes brought about by the National Education Guidelines and Bases Law, as well as its importance for Brazilian Education.
Main changes brought about by the National Education Guidelines and Bases Law
To facilitate understanding, we have gathered, below, the main changes brought by LDB since its creation.
- It made Basic Education (Pre-School, Elementary School and High School) mandatory and free;
- It gradually forced the training of teachers in Higher Education. After all, in the first years of the Law, this was a distant reality in several regions of the country;
- It expanded, albeit in a timid way, the valorization of teachers. As in the case of including paid study hours in the total workload;
- It obliged the enrollment of children aged 4 and 5 in Early Childhood Education, helping to gradually remove its welfare character;
- It imposed on the Union, the determination of a percentage to be applied, every year, in the Education of the Country;
- Increased the minimum number of school days in the year from 180 to 200 days;
- It extended the duration of elementary school from 8 to 9 years;
- It added teaching modalities, as in the case of special and indigenous education, with the aim of expanding educational inclusion.
The most recent amendments to the Law, until the closing of this article, are as follows:
- Unlike the format practiced until then, in which the high school curriculum should contain specific subjects, from now on, it should be guided by BNCC based on training itineraries based on the following areas: languages, mathematics, natural sciences, science human and technical and professional training;
- In order to expand integral education, the annual workload goes from 800 to 1,200 hours;
- English teaching becomes mandatory from the sixth year of elementary school. Before, the definition of the foreign language to be taught, at this stage, depended on the choice made by the school community;
- Teachers no longer need training in the area they teach. Just check to know about the content to be taught;
- Universities must respect the BNCC’s rules in the preparation of the tests applied in the entrance exams.
Why is LDB important for the country’s education?
The National Education Guidelines and Bases Law was, and still is, fundamental in expanding access to education and in improving the financing of the area in the country.
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Between 1990 and 2010, according to the study Achieving World-Class Education in Brazil , the education of Brazilians grew faster than that of countries like China.
Speaking of numbers, in the early 1990s, 39% of Brazilians over ten had attended school for less than three years. Today, about 19% of the population is in this situation. It’s still not perfect, but there have been countless advances since the LDB was signed.
Another point worth mentioning is the development of mechanisms to assess the quality of education in the country. Before the creation of the Ideb (Basic Education Development Index) and the School Census, for example, we were unaware of the impact of the teachers’ work . Today, through this information, we can see what is good and what is not and, with that, make improvements.
With the responsibility of the municipalities for the initial grades of elementary school, factors such as transport, meals, physical structure and teaching itself, also showed significant improvements.
Despite the advances brought by LDB, we know that many changes are still necessary in order for us to have the quality of teaching that we have so longed for the country. After all, not everything that is described in the Law has been applied in practice.
It is also necessary to expand the training and valorization of teachers, to look across sectors , especially with regard to children in situations of vulnerability and social risk, and greater collaboration between the Union, States and Municipalities.
